PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE: Waterville CSD selected to participate in the
Northeastern Farm to School Institute!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2015
CONTACT:
Tiffany McConn
Farm to School Coordinator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County and Waterville CSD
315-841-3802
[email protected]
Waterville Central School District was selected for a statewide 2015-2016 Northeast
Farm to School Institute
Waterville CSD is one of thirteen teams recently selected for the 2015-2016 Northeast
Farm to School Institute, hosted by Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED). The
Institute is a year-long learning opportunity that will help Waterville CSD engage
students in food, farm and nutrition education and serve healthy, local school meals.
Since 2010, VT FEED’s Institute has helped more than 47 Vermont schools and school
districts develop vibrant Farm to School programs that help students make healthy food
choices, expand use of local products in cafeterias, create food and farm curriculum,
build school gardens, foster community connections and more. 2015 is the first year
that the Institute is open to teams throughout New England and New York, thanks to
funding from a national United States Department of Agriculture Farm to School grant.
This year’s Northeast Farm to School Institute is offered free of charge to schools with
additional support from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, Serena Foundation,
Keurig Green Mountain, and the Farmhouse Group.
“We are honored to have been selected to participate in this unique opportunity; our
team is looking forward to learning about the many different components of a successful
Farm to School Program. Having the opportunity to be engaged with and learn from
experienced professionals and share ideas with districts that have the same passion as
ours will allow for us to return to our district and region with valuable information,
resources, and contacts that will support our initiative and set a strong foundation for a
successful and sustainable Farm to School Program.
Waterville CSD is in the very early stages of integrating a Farm to School Program. We
have begun to engage our students and build excitement through a number of
interactive events such as a Farm to School Logo Contest, participating in and bringing
home first place in our regions Jr. Iron Chef Competition, bringing a local farmer into the
class room, farm field trips, and expanded on the districts Local Food Day. We will
continue engaging students with similar activities in the 2015-2016 school year, as we
implement the valuable tools we learn from this year’s institute.
--Tiffany McConn, Farm to School Coordinator
Beginning with a three-day summer gathering at Shelburne Farms from June 24-26,
Waterville CSD will learn how to conduct Farm to School activities inside and outside of
the classroom. The team will learn about elements of successful Farm to School
programs, create action plans for their schools, and network with peers and other
schools. Waterville CSD team includes: Tiffany McConn – Farm to School Coordinator;
Tracy Leone – Business Official; Kate Dorr, RD – Assistant Director of Food Service,
Mickey Ireland – Food Service Manager; Zac Abbe – Farm to School Teacher Liaison;
Mary Beth Sigmund – Teacher Assistant; Jim Manning – CCE: Farm Business
Management Educator and NE and Mentor
The team will work with a coach to create and carry out a Farm to School action plan for
the 2015-2016 school year. Farm to School activities might include hands-on
experiences growing and cooking food, opportunities to meet and learn from local
farmers, integrating agriculture and nutrition into science, literacy and math lessons,
strategies to increase nutritious and seasonal foods in school cafeterias, and events or
programs that involve the community in growing and enjoying healthy, local foods.
According to the most recent USDA Farm to School survey, close to 6,000 Northeast
schools are bringing the farm to school, engaging over three million students and
spending over $58 million on local foods. Strong farm to school programs are linked to
increased school meal participation, increased consumption of vegetables, and better
understanding of health, nutrition, and awareness of food, farm & community issues.
”Vermont and the Northeast are national leaders in the farm to school movement,
creating changes in the food system by driving connections between education, health
and nutrition, and local foods and farms,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, Project Director of
Vermont FEED and the Regional Lead for the Northeast Regional Steering Committee of
the National Farm to School Network. “We expect the first regional Farm to School
Institute will spark even more critical innovations that benefit our children and
communities and that we can share with other schools.”
School teams selected for the 2015-2016 Northeast Farm to School Institute are:
Bradford Elementary in Bradford, VT; Champlain Elementary in Burlington, VT; Essex
Town School District in Essex, VT; Falmouth Public Schools in Falmouth, ME; Guilford
Central School in Guilford, VT; Hardwick Elementary in Hardwick, VT; Manchester
Elementary in Manchester, VT; Milton High School in Milton, VT; Monument Valley
Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, MA; Roundout Valley Junior High School in
Accord, NY; South Burlington High School in South Burlington, VT; Somersworth Middle
School in Somersworth, NH; and Waterville Central School District in Waterville, NY.
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Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED) is a partnership program of Shelburne
Farms and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). VT FEED’s
mission is to work with schools and communities to raise awareness about healthy food,
good nutrition, and the role of farms and farmers. Visit www.vtfeed.org to learn more.